Seasonal and Morphological Controls on Nitrate Retention in Arctic Deltas
[1];
[2];
[3];
[4];
[5]
- West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV (United States); Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY (United States)
- Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- University of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
- West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV (United States); University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI (United States)
Estimates of nitrate loading to the Arctic Ocean are limited by the lack of field observations within deltas partly due to logistical constraints. To overcome this limitation, we use a remote sensing framework to estimate retention of nitrate in Arctic deltas. We achieve this by coupling hydrological and biogeochemical process models at the network scale for five major Arctic deltas. Binary masks of delta channels were used to simulate flow direction and magnitude through networks. Models were parameterized using historical and seasonal observations. Simulated nitrate retention ranged from 2.9% to 15% of the incoming load. Retention rates were largest during winter but smallest during spring conditions when increased discharges export large nitrate masses to the coast. Under future climate scenarios, retention rates fall by ~1%–10%. Arctic deltas have an important effect on the magnitude of nitrate entering Arctic seas and the inclusion of processing in deltas can improve flux estimates.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; National Science Foundation (NSF); University of Texas; West Virginia University
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001; EAR-1952914
- OSTI ID:
- 1967536
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1967538; OSTI ID: 1970299
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-22-32180; 1944-8007 (Electronic)
- Journal Information:
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 50, Issue 7
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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